CSKA defeated Tsmoki-Minsk at home, 109-74 (30-20, 24-15, 29-19, 26-20).
Top Scorers
CSKA: Nando De Colo (15), Vitaly Fridzon (14), Cory Higgins (11), Joel Freeland (10+9 reb), Nikita Kurbanov (10+8 reb)
Tsmoki-Minsk: Antonio Graves (21+5 ast), Aliaksandr Semianiuk (12), Aliaksei Lashkevich (12)
Turning Point
Playing without Milos Teodosic, the Army Men still scored 30 points in the opening period. CSKA’s teamwork and unselfish approach shredded Tsmoki’s defense, with everyone on the roster scoring by the end of the 3rd quarter. Leading by 30, CSKA cruised to victory in the 4th quarter and clinched a sixth-straight regular-season championship.
Stat
46-18 – CSKA’s rebounding advantage. The Army Men finished with 33 second-chance points thanks to terrific offensive rebounding.
Quotes
CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis:
– Congratulations to the team on the win and taking 1st place in the VTB League regular season. The players took a serious approach today. We were better in practically every component. I wish Minsk luck in the Belarusian league.
Tsmoki-Minsk head coach Alexander Krutikov:
– Prior to the game, I told the guys in the locker room that they had an excellent opportunity to play against Europe’s strongest players and show what they can do. It’s too bad Milos Teodosic couldn’t play, but we understand that CSKA has other objectives in mind. Our opponents attacked our weak spots from the beginning and grabbed the momentum. I understand that the Army Men don’t get much out of a game like this, but it was a big lesson for us.
Video
CSKA vs Tsmoki-Minsk one minute highlights 📹 pic.twitter.com/AcV1r1WDqC
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) April 10, 2017
Image
Up Next
CSKA: April 13 at Parma
Tsmoki-Minsk: April 16 vs. Nizhny Novgorod
